How Senreve founder Coral Chung pioneered the convertible Maestra Bag beloved by celebrities like Priyanka Chopra and Greta Gerwig, and why ‘practice makes progress’ – not perfect

A former strategy consultant and tech executive, Coral Chen Chung founded Italian-handcrafted luxury bag company Senreve in 2015. Famous for pioneering the Maestra Bag, a luxury convertible handbag and backpack, it’s a favourite brand with celebrities and has a waiting list of thousands for the Maestra.

“I started Senreve about five years ago when I got the idea that women shouldn’t have to compromise between functionality and luxury. In my own search for the perfect handbag, I felt that there wasn’t any brand or product that spoke to me, someone who’s multifaceted and constantly juggling my many different roles and responsibilities. So I decided to start Senreve to empower women who do it all with versatile, beautiful and luxurious products. And the rest is history,” says Chung.

Growing up in an entrepreneurial household, she started her career at Bain & Company in Hong Kong before moving to Silicon Valley and working with leading luxury brands like Apple, Nike and Tory Burch, before striking out on her own.

“I grew up in a very entrepreneurial household, so it was always my dream to start a company like Senreve someday,” says Chung. “It’s very fulfilling to create beautiful products that hundreds of thousands of women love around the world.”

At the moment, she is focusing on expanding the business into the Asia-Pacific region and China.

“One of my focus areas is expanding Senreve in the APAC region. I think there continues to be tremendous growth and potential for the brand. We are doing a lot online, we have different creative partnerships and new product launches. We also have two stores in Hong Kong at Harbour City and IFC, and one store in Singapore as well as pop-ups in Shanghai, Beijing, and Chengdu,” she says, adding that she is also focused on sustainability initiatives within her business, which includes introducing products that are luxurious but also 100 per cent vegan.

With a growing business and two children, Chung integrates work and family life rather than forcing a balance of the two. “I have embraced integrating work and life rather than trying to force a balance. I love what I do and am passionate about my work, so sometimes it’s a very intense schedule including taking a conference call at midnight before giving birth the next day! I usually try to do something outdoors on the weekends, like hiking in the mountains, which helps me disconnect and do a digital detox,” says Chung.